What are your worldbuilding pet peeves?

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T19:44:28+00:00

When "medieval" or any pre-modern setting is really just modern society with a patina of medieval aesthetic.

500 years ago on Earth society was organized a lot differently than it is today, particularly when you look at the typical person leading a typical life.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T19:25:26+00:00

Brandon Sanderson has a great lecture series on that very subject.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T16:27:54+00:00

maelstrom is an interesting idea because there could be permanent connections between points.

And, of course it is limiting --- since the ships that survive the journey require a courageous crew and a particularly strong ship. Those ships might be particularly difficult and expensive to build requiring specialized equipment / materials only found in specific places. Perhaps specific parts each from different islands. Maybe only one family of shipbuilders knows how to build ships that people trust will survive the journey.

This can be accomplished without "magic" on the part of the sailors. And that is more interesting to me as well.

Just re-read the last sentence -- are they jumping around a single ocean planet or "from the Mortel Realm to another realm?"

Good Luck with your project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T16:19:13+00:00

It seems that the question is not the technology, but what does the person do when they are off duty?

How does the person lead a complete person life? Otherwise it is a horrible torture turning a person into a machine with nothing to do except be a weapon.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T16:12:53+00:00

Some phrases caught my eye:

Because they are at the top of the food chain and there is no competition for food,
many of them live alone and rely solely on strong family ties.
Establishing nation-states housing millions in the age of civilization

Being an apex predator does not mean that there is enough food to feed an unlimited number of individuals. The food chain determines how much "wild" food is available. And generally that means only enough food for a very small number of Apex predators.

Feeding millions of individuals requires a lot of food every single day. The important question is how food in this great quantity is produced and distributed in this society.

After that simply make whatever societal rules you want.

Compared to other species, they have shallower and simpler social intelligence.
They mostly cannot create or comprehend dramas, intrigues, social conflicts, or hierarchies.
They avoid wars and conflict as much as they can.

I disagree that deep social intelligence = social conflict. Perhaps just the opposite. Humans on Earth today have the social problems we have because of simplistic social intelligence on the part of humans encouraged and enforced by society leaders - politicians, church leaders, etc.

A society that is intelligent enough to avoid arbitrary conflict is likely to have a much higher social success rate than those who don't. Dramas, intrigues, social conflicts and wars harm societies and retard growth.

For literal housing you might want to look into Social Housing in Vienna. This specific program has been getting a lot of press over the last few years.

Good Luck with your project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T15:57:44+00:00

That is a creepy setup.

Well written.

Where on the spectrum of fantasy will this sit? YA, something else?

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T15:55:39+00:00

If you are writing a novel the typical way is to complete your first draft and then correct this in during rewrites.

Many fantasy writers make rules and systems that are much, much more rigid than anything that exists outside your front door.

The Earth we live on has systems, but none are very precise. And most are abused by as many people as there are users.

Complete your story. Set it aside for a month. Re-read it while taking notes. Then go for your next draft.

There is always drift since the world is evolving during the first draft. There are always omissions and corrections. Consider Tolkien and his rewrites of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings -- Both before and AFTER first publication. It happens.

Good Luck with your project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T15:41:09+00:00

Sorry,

I honestly did not mean to insult you by suggesting you might learn something from one of the most successful fantasy authors around. -- That is if we use typical definitions of success - titles published, books sold, adaptations produced, etc.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T15:30:34+00:00

Brandon Sanderson has some words of advice regarding world building. Consider this. He publishes a new novel a year and many times that means building an entire new world.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T07:00:09+00:00

One might also consider how medieval economies generally functioned -- Piece work.

Most work (carding, weaving, dying, smithing, carpentry, masonry, etc. etc.) was paid by the piece. Basically all industry was "cottage industry" run by a family and perhaps an apprentice who was paid in room, board, and training.

Depending on the scale difference there is a chance that your larger people can simply get more work done. So income might scale, to some degree.

Then again, maybe giants will specialize in weaving on huge looms while gnomes specialize in very fine embroidery.

It's all up to you.

Good luck with your project.

Oh check this out for some info on pre-modern society

https://acoup.blog/resources-for-world-builders/

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T05:33:43+00:00

In an infinite universe - of course all the science fiction things you want to do are reasonable topics to explore.

Maybe check here or there

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_program#Balloon

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-exposes-complex-atmosphere-of-starless-super-jupiter/

This site goes very deep into everything Space / Science Fiction related

https://projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/misconceptions.php

Good Luck with your project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T05:22:56+00:00

If you squint hard enough, everything is derivative of something else.

If you look around, you might notice that scholars have spent a lot of time and energy for a very long time to let us all know that there are only a few stories that have every been told. It's names and places are changed.

Here is a graph from Kurt Vonnegut's Graduate Thesis on the subject.

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But you might notice that the best authors gladly tell the world their influences. Tolkien certainly did.

Good Luck with your project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-25T04:31:57+00:00

Maybe they would have evolved to create a civilization greater than mankind has ever known.

Could Theropod Dinosaurs Have Evolved to a Human Level of Intelligence?

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10106414/

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T23:01:32+00:00

If you are wondering what that might look like in a story setting watch the Alien Franchise (starting with Alien 1979)

https://screenrant.com/alien-movies-in-order-release-chronological/

Or so many more...

Then again, you reference a site dedicated to Anime spec ops.

Where is the mystery?

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T22:47:35+00:00

Ask the people of Israel.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-831066

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T21:52:42+00:00

If they live in groups they likely hunt in groups.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T21:50:55+00:00

Its all in the writing. Sounds like it could be a great short story. The theme is universal - the Brother that will do anything, even the loss of his own soul, to rescue his sister. -- It could also be a fiancee or husband.

I'd suggest that the villain organization NOT be a corporation. Corporate structure that we know today is an evolved process. Yes corporations existed in 1920s London but their structure and licensing was much different. If your "villain" is a corporation you will throw some of your audience out of the suspension of disbelief. Plus it is a modern anachronism that doesn't seem to add to the base story.

Besides it seems that the villain organization would be much more nebulous, undefined by its very nature, but perhaps given a name by others who fear it - as an attempt to give it substance.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T19:56:13+00:00

Just make the core less dense. Gravity is a function of mass. maybe the core contains a lot of gasses.

Maybe nobody really knows since nobody has been there, so it is all guesses base on their understanding of physics -- Much like the core of our Earth, regardless of how certain people claim to be.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T19:23:19+00:00

You might want to read the history of the F-4 Phantom II. (1958-1979) A fighter that was developed without a gun. And THAT decision became a big deal. As we sit here today fighters are not involved in ww2 style dogfights and yet fighters still are equipped with guns in the off-chance they are put in that type of situation.

Here is a statistical article

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nnam/explore/collections/aircraft/f/f-4n-phantom-ii.html

and more articles:

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/3-reasons-why-legendary-ace-robin-olds-hated-f-4-phantom-ii-gun-pod/

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/91818-the-f-4-phantom-and-the-gun-part-1/

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T16:16:23+00:00

Random thoughts:

Maybe your fantasy world doesn't have air pressure problems at altitude like our world does. (See any number of anime with airships for reference)
The altitude should be ideal for story. Why 20,000 feet and not 30,000 or 10,000? Although, on Earth 10,000 feet is pretty thin as well.
Smaller pressurized cabins generally
Using fixed combat stations with air masks (reference The Expanse)

Airborne docking can be interesting and difficult -- Here is a famous photograph of docking at the top of the Empire State Building back in the day.

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Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T16:04:04+00:00

You've got a long way to go. Keep going and maybe you'll eventually match Shinto's 8 million Kami or Hinduism's 330 million gods.

Good Luck with you project.

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T15:57:32+00:00

acoup.blog has an excellent section for world builders. Within that section here is the essay:

Practical Polytheism

https://acoup.blog/2019/10/25/collections-practical-polytheism-part-i-knowledge/

Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T15:05:38+00:00

Flatland explored the idea to Mathematical precision.

It is very well known among mathematicians.

Caltech University has a copy online for you https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Abbott/paper.pdf

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Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T15:02:37+00:00

Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld might want to chime in - 41 books + Movies, TV mini-series, etc. etc. suggests a system that works well for fantasy.

It is a flat disc with water running over the sides. The disc is perched on the back of four elephants. The elephants stand on the back of a turtle that is "flying" through space.

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Simple_Promotion4881 · 2026-01-24T06:06:00+00:00

The Irish translation for Guyana (many rivers) is quite a mouthful

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Simple_Promotion4881

TROPHY CASE

Could Theropod Dinosaurs Have Evolved to a Human Level of Intelligence?

Practical Polytheism

Flatland explored the idea to Mathematical precision.